The More We Defend It, the More It Means To Us.

In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  vvs. 6-7 

Their faith is more precious than gold.  It’s genuineness (awkward word) is being tested by the trials that they undergo.  It is easy to claim faith unchallenged.  Speaking the right words, making sure they sound good to the right ears, that is a simple way of pretending the faith. 

But these people are not pretending the faith.  Their faith is being tested by fire.  In the last posting, I speculated that this is not the “Christians versus Lions” that will come later in the history of the church, but there is still something seriously challenging these people, enough for Peter to take notice.

How does something test the genuineness of your faith?  It pushes on you to defend that faith when doing so is uncomfortable.  When we are challenged about Jesus, it is easier to keep our mouths shut.  Easier still is to have never opened our mouths about Jesus in the first place, never put ourselves in a place where we might even be challenged.

Our faith is perishable, more precious than gold, but perishable when undergoing trials.  It seems that some of Peter’s audience have found their faith perishable, that they have given it up under the trials they have undertaken.  But to endure gives us something far more precious, something well worth it.